Thursday, February 28, 2013

Pressing Issue ...

A friend once referred to it as a garlic gun. This thing has some serious garlic-pressing power.

And it's been with me for a long time. It's the first and only garlic press I've ever owned, my Zyliss. Newer versions have some kind of weird coating on them that flakes off over time. I know this because my mom had to replace her original Zyliss and she hated the newer version.

So we bought an OXO press for her. We love OXO tools. But the OXO garlic press was a dud.

So I did what any self-respecting kitchen junkie would do: I queried America's Test Kitchen's recommendation and bought her the recommended $40 Kuhn Rikon Epicurean garlic press. The heft of it is nice. I like the curved handles. But as for pressing garlic? Meh. It's cumbersome to use. The perforated portion is hinged to lift out for easy cleaning, but when I open the press, I have to hold the perforated portion in place with my thumb while loading the garlic. Whereas with my faithful old Zyliss, I just flip it open, pop in a clove, press it, open it up again, pull out the skin (yep, you don't have to peel the cloves first), and go on to the next.

There are currently 72 comments on the Kitchn post. People have very strong feelings about their garlic presses. Of all the comments I read, everyone is pro-press. I don't know why anyone would be otherwise. There is a time to slice and a time to chop and a time to mince, but sometimes, I want garlic obliterated into a pulpy mess and my garlic press is the best way I know how to get there.

Now, an egg separator. That's an uncool kitchen tool. Use the egg shells, kids. Or, hell, your hands. Did you ever see "The Hours"? Meryl Streep just cracks an egg into her hand, transfers it back and forth from hand to hand, lets the white drip through her fingers, and dumps the yolk into a bowl. No need to worry about piercing the yolk with the jagged edge of an eggshell. Just toss, toss, toss, dump.

But I digress.

If you ever see an original aluminum Zyliss at a garage sale or thrift store, snap that baby up. Even if you already have one. It's always good to have a spare.